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ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa closing the ANC's 5th national general council.
- The ANC national general council has decided that SACP members should be excluded from election workshops and strategy meetings.
- ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa announced the move during his closing remarks on the last day of the national general council on Thursday.
- It is part of efforts to resolve differences within the alliance partners.
The ANC national general council (NGC) has decided that SACP members should be recused from ANC election workshops and strategy meetings amid discussions on addressing differences between alliance partners.
ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa disclosed this during his closing remarks at the party’s 5th NGC at the Birchwood Hotel in Boksburg.
Delegates applauded his statement, with some commenting: “It’s about time. It is about time.”
Ramaphosa said the NGC supported the national executive committee’s assessment that the SACP’s resolution to contest the upcoming local government elections independently “does not, or will not, only have tactical implications, but will also have strategic implications for the alliance as a whole and the prosecution of the national democratic revolution”.
“It has been agreed that the alliance leadership must meet urgently to develop a common approach to the reconfiguration and renewal of the alliance in a manner that safeguards unity and cohesion and avoids further confusion, division, and conflict among the rank and file on the ground,” Ramaphosa continued, admitting that the sentiment might sound repetitive.
“But we should, in a painstaking way, continue to engage, and this is what this NGC has said.”
Ramaphosa added that the alliance partners had a historical responsibility to persevere in their unity efforts and that engagement with the SACP must persist ahead of the elections.
“However, as we continue to persuade each other, we will need to request SACP members participating in our joint election structures to recuse themselves, particularly on our strategies and tactics for running the elections,” he said.
Ramaphosa added:
They should recuse themselves, and, may I add, a number of them feel that they will be conflicted and are recusing themselves until we resolve this issue.
Ramaphosa’s comments echoed those of ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula, who, in delivering the ANC’s mid-term report earlier, noted escalating tensions between alliance partners. Mbalula revealed that the ANC had begun reassessing the dual membership of SACP members.
“Despite bilateral engagements, the SACP remains determined to contest elections independently,” he said.
“Despite these efforts, bilateral engagements in 2024 and 2025 failed to bridge disagreements over independent contestation. The ANC has since resolved to reassess dual membership to protect its organisational integrity.”
READ | SACP’s Mapaila skips ANC National General Council as alliance tensions escalate
Speaking to News24 shortly after Ramaphosa’s remarks, SACP 1st deputy general secretary Madala Masuku welcomed the resolution and affirmed that SACP structures had already resolved not to participate in ANC elections strategy meetings.
“So it means that the central committee cannot be invited; the PEC (provincial executive committee) should not be invited, and the district [structures] must not be invited. It’s something we have already resolved on and said it must be respected. This is a confirmation,” said Masuku.
However, Masuku noted potential ambiguity in Ramaphosa’s statements. He said that, from the closing remarks, it appeared that Ramaphosa was suggesting that not all members of the ANC should be invited. And that is something the SACP will then have to discuss.
“We will write to all the members of the ANC to say if you’re an election coordinator or whether you’re the secretary, you can’t sit there – but we have to clear that up later.”
